How have you handled obstacles that you've faced during information gathering processes in your time as a technical writer?
To successfully document and write about software products, information gathering from subject matter experts will be a key part of your process if hired for this role at Fast Enterprises. As you have likely experienced during your career, the information gathering process can be one of the most painstaking processes within the life of a project. For this question, your interviewer is looking to hear what obstacles you have faced in this situation in the past and how you handled those situations. This will give them insight on how you will work as part of a larger team in handling these perceived obstacles if hired for this position.
"Because the information gathering phase is a vital step in my finished projects, I take the time to meet as many credible sources as possible. This includes design engineers, automation engineers, product designers and many other folks and the biggest hiccup that I usually come across is coordinating time with folks that have busy schedules. To help minimize the total time frame for info gathering, I am very direct in my communications to key leaders that I want to meet with to finish a project and my directness is always taken well. Like any obstacle we face in our work, I find that being upfront and direct is the best manner for handling them."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
Credible sources are the most important thing when gathering information for a project. Usually, this would include communicating personally to these sources. I once wrote an important research paper in college and to find the perfect source it required me to email and interview a Colonel from the US Army. The biggest obstacle was organizing a time before the deadline for the paper but I have learned to circumvent this by having a wider range of sources and being upfront in communication about the information that is trying to be gathered.
Stephanie's Feedback
You use a strong specific example to show how you've navigated challenges during the information gathering process.
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